Explaining deer hunter preferences for regulatory changes using choice experiments

Abstract

ABSTRACTAchieving state wildlife agency goals for white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) management may conflict with hunter traditions and desires. Optimizing deer herd management given conflicting biological and social goals means that agencies will need to better understand what trade‐offs can be made. In North Carolina, USA, the harvest of deer by hunters is skewed towards males <2.5 years old and all firearm hunting seasons begin prior to the rut. Both trends can have undesirable consequences for deer populations, hunters, and deer managers. To provide better information to mitigate the potential for undesirable consequences, we modeled deer hunter choice behavior using a discrete choice experiment to identify their preferences for regulatory components and policy alternatives. Discrete choice experiments explain the choice behavior of humans via preference elicitation. We obtained the data used in our analysis after contacting 171,880 resident deer hunters by email and postcard to encourage their participation in a web‐based survey. We received valid responses from 25,508 resident deer hunters. Respondents identified gun season length as the most important regulatory attribute influencing their decisions about policy, followed by bag limits. Results also suggest that North Carolina's hunters may be more willing to make trade‐offs when attributes least affecting their decision making, such as season opening date and blackpowder season length, are altered by decision makers to benefit the deer herd. By employing wildlife valuation methods, such as discrete choice experiments, agencies can gain deep insights into viable trade‐offs between different attributes that underpin multidimensional policies, such as deer seasons, not achieved through attitudinal measures alone. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.